So I was reading an article in the Jan. 25th Macleans and it really struck home. You may have heard about a lady in BC Jenny Manzer who was kicked off a BC public transport bus and had to walk 14 blocks home carrying her 20 month daughter. The bus driver pulled over and asked her to get off the bus because her daughter was crying and shouting 'no, no, no'. He told her she had to learn how to control her child!!!!! What makes it worse - as if this is not shocking enough is the reaction people had to this story once it hit the press and the Internet, calling her child spoilt, calling her names, judging her and telling her to go to college so that she could buy a car..... read the article http://www2.macleans.ca/tag/jenny-manzer/
It left me really shocked. I know as a mother there are times when you feel like your head is going to spin off and you just want to rip your hair out, times like when your children decide to have a temper tantrum in the middle of the restaurant, or at the hockey rink, or on a public transport bus.... I think my kids are pretty good, and I am not just saying that because they are my kids but sometimes they are SPUN and I hate that feeling of having to make the excuse 'he's not normally like this' as I am starting to sweat.... You know anyone present is sat judging you are thinking 'yeah right' and have already formed their opinion on your bad parenting skills before you can whisk them up under your arm and run out! I hate that feeling of panic and anxiety as your child screams and you are frantically tying every motherly trick known to man-kind to pacify them... as you are swearing in your head that you will never eat out or venture out in public again with your child!!
I am sure even the most angelic children have their devilish moments but why do people judge you as a parent??... I'll admit to it.. I have been guilty of it too! If you have children or have ever been around them then you know that at some point in time it is bound to happen. They don't want to sit still and quiet in church for an hour, or on a plane for 7 hours, or wait in a restaurant for food at lunch time when they are hungry and nap time is approaching! Babies are born impatient... it's a natural survival instinct! So when my child is throwing a temper tantrum and you are looking down at me with your 30 or 40 years of adulthood on my toddler I suggest you start looking the other way or invest in a pair of ear plugs!!
3 comments:
you know it's funny. i always think the opposite (unless i'm stuck on a long plane ride with an un-rule child). being in the field of behavioral health i always feel bad for the parent and the child when tantrums occur and stress is apparent. i understand that it's not always parenting skills that lead to a tantruming kids. kids are kids! we've all had our tantrum in the grocery store before!! i hope you know that not everybody thinks badly!
I guess I was on a bit of a rant when I wrote my last blog post but I was just in shock that this woman and her child got booted off a bus!!! I know not everyone thinks badly but as a society we are very judgmental and I have had those bad looks from people in the grocery store when one is screaming and the other one is tearing down the isles with no hope of me catching him!
Wow! I am speechless!
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